Self-feeding press



New. 5, 1935. w FERRIS ET AL 2&39348 SELF'FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24, 1931 12 Sheets-Sheet 1 nvmvroxs WALTER FEFzms.

HEHJEN.

A TURNEY.

.JEIHN .P- FERFHS. .GEUFHQE L.

" NOV. 5, 1935., FERRls ET AL I 2339,5848

SELF FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24,1951 l2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS WALTER FER'RIS. Jun-m F. FERRIS. SEEM-"HEEL. HEIDEN.

A TURNEY.

Nov 5, 1935. w FERRls r AL 2,019,848

SELF FEEDING PRES 5 Filed Oct. 24, 1931 i2 Sheets-Shet 3 INVENTORS' GEEIFHSEL L i-11:10am

NM]. 5, 1935, w FERRls ET A 2 ,019,848

SELF FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24, 1951 12 Sheets-Sheet 4 2 {Q g INVENTORS' i. EWALTER .FEHHIS.

. JOHN P. F HRISJ GEURGE- LAHEIDEN.

BY WW A TQRALE NW 5 m5, W FERRBS ET AL, zmww SELF FEEDING PRESS.

12 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 24, 1931 E RR MRRMMEM MEECEW EH H E A NE LHG Aim W E G Y B .m,m&

Nov. 5, 19315. W FEMS ET AL 2,019,848

SELF FEEDING PRESS l2 Sheet'S-Sheet-G Filed Oct. 24, 1931 m T INVENTORS' WALTER F'EHHIS. .JBHN 1 FEHRIS. EEUREE L-HEIDEN.

ATTORNEY.

Nova 5 @350 W. FERRIS ET AL SELF FEEDING PRESS l2 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed OGt. 24, 1931 E m S R R E MRHD W M 5 D WFF w 5 A El T Nova 5, 1935. w. FERRIS ET AL SELF FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24, 1931 12 Sheets-Sheet 9 1 m M Q INVENTORS' WALTER F ERRIS.

GEBHGE, L..HE1 DEN. WW AT URNEY.

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Nam 13.

W. FERRIS ET AL SELF FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24, 1931 12 Sheets-Sheet l0 INVENTORS ER FER-ms.

UHN GEUR BE P. FERRIS. L. HEIDEN.

' A'T'TUR'NEY.

Nov. 5,1935. w. FERRIS ETAL SELF FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24, 1931 12 Sheets-Sheet 11 h vll um S R N. wHH E 0 PET N E n. 3% T 37 EFL A n N E TOT B H ,H w M m r v W E GY B. mu Too? 1 I WEN MOW n W vow lllll T Ill 1. w M 11 w W v E w wmW mm a 2 DE Nov. 5, 1935. W. FQRRIS ET A1. 2,019 SELF FEEDING PRESS Filed Oct. 24, 1951 12 sheets -sheet l2 INVENTORSV' WLTER F'EFeFus Jun-1N 1 P125 951.

G EEIRG L HEIDEN;

BY W

A TURNEY.

Patented Nov. 5, 1935 This invention relates to The press to which STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,019,848 SELF-FEEDING PRESS Walter Ferris, Milwaukee, John P. Ferris, Whitefish Bay, Wis., assignors and George L.

to The Oilgear Company, Mil- Heiden, Milwaukee,

waukee wis a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 24, 1931, Serial No. 570,822

Claims.

hydraulic presses.

the invention applies in particular has a ram for reciprocating a movable die toward and from a stat mechanism for engaging the work and feeding it intermittently,

through. the press press disclosed in Patent N The work is engaged by the press in position to be nism, then fed into operated upon by the dies feeding mechanism,

ionary die and feeding such as the 0. 2,016,710. the feeding mechathen released by the then the movable die is advanced into engagement with the work, then the feeding mechanism is retracted, then the work is reengaged by the feeding the movable die cycle of operation.

mechanism, and then is retracted,thus completing a The press may be adjusted to complete a single cycle of operation and the n come to rest but, as

it is intended primarily for operating upon sheet metal strips, it is ordinarily operated continuously until stopped by the operator who must place another strip in position to be engaged by the feeding mechanism when the preceding strip has been fed into the press.

An object of the invention is to provide a press which is fully automatic in operation.

Another object'is to provide means for automatically placing the work in position to be engaged by the feeding mechanism.

-. Another object is to provide a press of this character with a magazine from which the work is fed automatically into the press.

Another object is to decelerate the press automatically during the placing of the work in position to be engaged by th Another object is to prevent e feeding mechanism. the movable die from engaging'the work during any cycle of operation during which the work onlypartially overlaps the dies.

Another object is to provide mechanism which will enable the press to operate automatically upon strips of various lengths.

Another object is to provide a press which will Another object is operate upon trips of various widths.

to maintain the top of the work in the magazine substantially at a predetermined level.

A press constructed according to the invention may have its magazine supplied with a stack or pile of strip material and its mechanism adjusted to perform a given numb er of operations upon each strip, and then the press will operate without further attention until the is exhausted.

work in the magazine Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

According to the invention in a general aspect, the mechanism will lift the uppermost strip from a stack of work and place it in position to 5 be engaged by the feeding mechanism.

According to another aspect of the invention. the stack is raised as the strips are removed from its top. v

According toanother aspect of the invention, 10 timing mechanism is employed for determining the number of operations which the press will perform upon a strip of material before another strip is placed in position to be engaged by the feeding mechanism.

According to another aspect of the invention, the timing or control mechanism causes the press to be decelerated at the same time that it starts the operation of the transfer mechanism.

According to another aspect of the invention, 20 the feeding mechanism has grippers which engage the work and these grippers are adjustable toward and from the path ofthe work to accommodate strips of different widths.

The mechanisms and the motors which pro- 25 duce the several movements are so interrelated and connected that the movements must follow each other in a predetermined sequence.-

A press embodying the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which the views 30 are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a front view, the greater part of the magazine and the upper parts of the pump andv motor which operate the press being broken away and the dies omitted. 35

Fig. 2 is a side view of the press as indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the magazine and the dies being omitted.

Fig. 3 is a central transverse section on the line 3-4 of Fig. 1, the dies being shown in dotted 40 lines.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through dies which may be employed, these dies being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail view, partly in section, of a 45 detent for holding the work against retraction while being fed through the press, the view being taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. 1

Fig. 7 is a rear elevation taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 1. 5

rious operative positions.

Fig. 1 6 is a diagrampf the hydraulic circuit.

' the press, the view being partly in section and taken on the line ll-ll of Fig.- 9.

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section through the hydraulic motors which reciprocate the feed bar shown in Fig. 9, the view taken on the line ||-||6fFig.2.

Fig. 1271s a section on the line |2-|2 of Fig. 11."

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are detail views of the control mechanism and show the andshows schematically the relation of the various parts to each other and also shows certain of the parts in section.

Fig. 17 is a plan view, partly in section, taken in the plane of the line |'I|'| of Fig. 1 and showing the relation between the press and its magazine, the angle at which the magazine is normally arparts thereof in va-' ranged relatively to the press being exaggerated.

Fig. 18 is a sectional plan view of the magazine taken on the line |8|8 of Fig. 20.

Fig. 19 is a front view of the magazine, the central part thereof being broken away.

' Fig. 20 is an end view, partly in section, of the magazine. 7

Fig. 21 is a detail of a detent for holding the work against retraction as it is fed from, the magazine, the view taken substantially on the line 2|-2| of Fig. 17. e

The invention is shown embodied in a vertical press in which the ram is reciprocated toward and from a stationary bolster arranged vertically beneath it but, with slight changes, the press may be arranged horizontally or inverted, and the terms denoting direction used herein are descriptive of the press shown and'are not employed to limit the scope of the invention.

The press comprises, in'general, a frame I, a platen 2 guided in the frame I and reciprocated therein by a ram 3 which has its cylinder 4 rigidly secured to the frame I at the upper end thereof, a magazine 5 for holding a stack of sheet metal strips 8 or other work to be operated upon by the press, mechanism for transferring the work from the magazine to the press, mechanism for feeding the work through the press, and mechanism for controlling the operation of the Liquid for operating the press is supplied from a pump I which is shown arranged upon the top of the frame I and is ordinarily adjustable to vary the volume of liquid delivered to thereby -vary the speed of the press but, when once adjusted, the volume of liquid delivered remains constant irrespective of the pressure developed.

-A pump which may be employed is disclosed in Patent No. 1,558,002, issued October 20, 1925 to Walter Ferris, but the hand-operated strokechanging mechanism of the patent is replaced by a piston and a cylinder for changing the stroke of 1 Y ordinarily incorporated in the pump 1, as shown in Patent No. 1,558,002.

The frame I, which is ordinarily composed of structural plates and shapessuitably formed and welded together, has a cross-girder 9 extending transversely of its upper end in which the ram cylinder 4 is rigidly secured.

The ram cylinder 4 has a lower section l0,

which extends through the bottom of the crossgirder 9 and has a shoulder resting thereon, and an upper section [2 which closes the top of the lower section II and is rigidly secured to the bottom plate of the cross-girder 9 by elongated bolts II.

The lower section II has a bore l4 and a pressure chamber II, and the upper section l2 has a bore l8 and a pressure chamber l1, all of which are concentric.

The ram 2 has its upper part closely fitted in the bore 'IO and guided thereby, a piston l8 arranged intermediate its ends and closely fitted in the pressure chamber II, and its lower part extended through the bore l4 and closely fitted in suitable packing which is provided therein in the usual manner.

The ram 3 is retracted and supported by liquid which is delivered to the lower end of the chamber II and acts upon the under side of the piston l8, and it ,is advanced by liquid which is delivered simultaneously to the chamber I1 and to the upper end of the chamber l5 and acts upon the up-' per end of the ram 3 and the upper side of the piston II. A ram area equal to the entire crosssectional area of the piston I8 is thus subjected to hydraulic pressure during the working stroke of the press.

The press is capable of operating at high speed and is'ordinarily so adjusted that its stroke is 30 but little greater than the thickness of the material being operated upon. For instance, if the press is operating upon thin sheet metal, it is adjusted to make a stroke of approximately oneeighth inch.

35 The downward stroke of the ram is limited by the lower die or die block, which is adjusted in alinement with the feeding mechanism, and the upward stroke of the ram is limited by a. stop pin 9 which engages the upper flange 20 of the platen 2 and is carried by a split collar 2| threaded upon the lower endof the lower section ll) of the ram cylinder 4 and clamped in adjusted positions thereon.

The upper limit of the ram stroke is adjusted by rotating the collar 2| to raise or lower the pin l8 and, when it is desired to fully retract the rain, the collar 2| is rotated until the pin I9 is in alinement with a notch 22 formed in the flange 20.

= The platen 2 has a recess 23 extending downwardly from its top to-receive the lower end of the ram 3 which bears upon the bottom thereof and is so closely fitted therein that the platen and the ram form substantially a unitary structure. The ram 3 may also have a collar 24 t hreaded thereon and bolted to the top of the platen 2 to prevent the lower end of the ram 3 and the bottom of the recess 23 from separating when the press is operating.

The platen 2 has two bearings 25 arranged upon opposite sides thereof and fitted for reciprocation upon vertical guide bars 26 each of which has its ends secured in'lugs 21 fixed to the frame I and forming parts thereof.

The guide bars 26 and the wall of the bore l6 thus provide widely separated guides for the ram and platen unit which is accurately held thereby in alinement with the axis of the cylinder 4 and prevented from exerting the wall of the chamber l5 bore l4.

The press is provided with suitable dies and die blocks, such as those shown in Fig. 4, which have or the packing in the lateral pressure upon been shown in dottedlines in Fig. 3 and omitted entirely from Figs. 1 and 2 in order to expose other parts of the press.

As shown in Fig. 4, the 28 is carried by a die block 29 which is secured to the bottom of the platen 2, and the lower or stationary die .30 is ordinarily provided with a stripper 3| and secured to a bolster 32 carried by a bed plate 33 which forms a part of the frame I.

When dies of this type are employed, the work is fed between the lower die 30 and the stripper 3| and then the upper die 28 is advanced until the die block 23 engages the stripper 3| and stalls the ram, thereby causing reversal of the ram and retraction of the die 28 as will be described hereinafter.

The work is fedinto and through the press by one or more grippers 34, two of which are shown arranged on opposite sides of the lower die 30 and adapted to reciprocate toward and. from the die 30 upon a horizontal gripper support 35 which extends transversely of the press and is carried by the frame I in an adjusted stationary position.

The work is fed into the press by one gripper until it is engaged by the second gripper, then it is fed through the press by both grippers until it passes beyond the reach of the first gripper, and then it is fed out of the press by the second gripper.

The gripper support 35 has two V-faced ways 35 which extend along its upper edges transversely of the press and upon which the grippers 34 slide.

As best a frame 31 which is and provided with shown in Fig. 10, each gripper 34 has mounted upon the ways 35 bearings 38' to reduce the friction therebetween. The bearings 38 are able jaw is pivoted by means shown in Fig. 10 as being liners but, in practice, roller bearings are employed.

The gripper frame 31 has a stationary jaw 39 formed upon its front side and a movable jaw 40 pivoted thereto, and the jaws 39 and 40 are provided, respectively, with contacts 4| and 42 which are secured thereto by means of bolts 43. The

contacts are spaced from the jaws by fillers 44 which may be varied in number and thickness to adjust the jaws to and to the thickness of the work.

The gripper frame 31 has two spaced ribs or side walls 45 to which the lower end of the movof a pin 45 and between which it is held against lateral movement relatively to the frame 31.

The movable jaw 40 has a bifurcated upper end in which a thrust block 41 is arranged and pivoted thereto by means of a pin 48. The movable jaw 40 is rocked upon-the pin 45 by a bifurcated lever 49 which is splined upon an elongated shaft 50 and fitted between the ribs 45 to be moved therewith along the shaft 50 as the gripper 34 reciprocates, and the bifurcated front end of the lever 49 has a thrust block 5| arranged therein and pivoted thereto by a pin 52.

The thrust blocks 41 and 5| are urged apart by a helical compression spring 53 arranged between the same, and their relative movements are limited by two bolts 54 which are secured to the thrust block 5| and extend loosely through the thrust block 41, suitable nuts being provided on the outer ends of thebolts 54 to engage the front face of the thrust block 41.

The spring 53 holds the gripper 34 closed after it has been closed by a clamping motor and thereby. relieves the clamping motor from all upper or movable die the height of the lower die 30 load as will be described presently. As the gripper is normally closed, it is shown in Fig. 10 as being closed upon a piece of work 5 which is indicated in dotted lines.

The shaft 50 is journaled between its center and each end in the ribs 45 of the grippers 34 and at its center in a bifurcated bearing which is shown arranged upon the center line of the press and carried by the ways 35 of the gripper support 35 in a stationary position, in Figs. 3 and 9.

The shaft 50 is rotated through a predetermined angular distance and held against axial movement by a lever 55 which ls'rigidly secured thereto at the center thereof and fitted between the two side walls of the bearing 55.

The free end of the lever 55 is connected by a connecting rod 51 to the outer end of a lever 58 which is secured upon a shaft 59 journaled in the side walls of a motor support 50 carried by the frame I near the upper end thereof, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 8. 4

The connecting rod 51 is ordinarily made adjustable as to length and it may comprise a bar or tube having a clevis attached to one end thereof by right hand threads and a clevis attached to the other end thereof by left hand threads, as shown in Fig. 3.

The shaft 59 has two levers 5| secured thereon at an angle to the lever 58 and connected at their outer ends by links 52 to an axle 53 which has a roller 54 arranged upon each of its ends and guided in a track 55 carried by the motor support 50.

The levers 5| are arranged between the side walls of the motor support 50 and each abuts the inside of a side wall to hold the shaft 59 against axial movement.

The axle 53 is moved forwardly and rearwardly by a hydraulic clamping motor which has its cylinder 55 secured to the motor support 55 and the rod 51 of its piston 58 connected to the axle 53 by a yoke 53 which is arranged between the links 52.

The shaft 59 also has a lever 18 secured thereon to operate certain control mechanism which will be described hereinafter.

When working liquid is delivered to the rear or head end of the cylinder 55, the piston 53 advances and moves the axle 53 forwardly and the rollers 54 ride along the tracks 55 and hold-the piston rod 51 in alinement and prevent any lateral strains from being transmitted thereto from the levers 5|.

The forward movement of the axle 53 is transas shown of the levers 5| which rotate the shaft 59 through a predetermined angular distance and thereby depress the front ends of the levers 58 and 18.

The downward movement of the lever 58 is transmitted through the connecting rod 51 to the lever 55 which rotates the shaft 50 and causes it to swing the lever 48 upwardly and rearwardly, thereby drawing the upper end of the jaw 43 rearwardly and opening the gripper.

When liquid is delivered to the front or rod end of the cylinder 55, the shaft 50 is rotated in the opposite direction and the upper end of the jaw 40 4| and 42 engage the work 5 and exert pressure thereon and then the bolts 54 slide forwardly through the thrust block 41 and the spring 53 is compressed until the pin 52 reaches dead center, that is, in alinement with the pin 48 and the shaft 50 and then further rotation of the mitted through the links 52 to the upper ends is moved forwardly until the contacts be fed through the press and a wide variety of dies employed, the grippers" 84 may be moved forwardly and rearwardly to vary the distance between their paths and the lower die 38.

This is accomplished by fixing the gripper support upon two slides 1I each of which is slidably supported in two guides 12 and 18 carried by the frame I upon opposite ,sides thereof, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 9.

The guides 12 have their inner ends welded to the lower web or side plate 14 which connects the front anf rear corner posts of the frame I, the guides 13 have their inner ends welded to the rear corner posts." and the outer ends of all our guides are notched or recessed to receive the slides 1| which are held therein by suitable retaining bars bolted to the outer ends of the guides.

The grippers 34 may be moved forwardly and rearwardly by means of two adjusting screws 15 and 18 each of which is journaled in a rear corner post and threaded through 9. lug 11 secured to the inner face of the corresponding slide 1I.

Each of the screws 15 and 18 is held against forward movement by a sprocket wheel 18 which is secured to the outer end thereof and has its hub in contact with the rear face of the rear corner post, and each of the screws is held against rearward movement by a collar 18 which is secured thereon in contact with the front face of the rear corner post.

The screw 15 has a hand wheel 88 secured to its outer end for rotating it, and the sprockets 18 are connected to each other by a chain M which causes the screws 15 and 18 to be rotated in unison and thereby move both ends of the gripper support 85 in unison and through the same distance. F

The grippers 84 are held in spaced relation to each other by a tubular bar 82 which extends loosely through the bearing 55 and has the grippers 34 secured thereto upon opposite sides of its center by means of clamps 83 which are shown as being formed integral with gripper frame 81 and one of each arranged alongside each rib 45' upon the, outside thereof, as best shown in Figs. 9 and 10. h

The clamps 83 are split along one side thereof in the customary manner and the split side of each is provided with a bolt 84 which is tightened to secure the gripper 34 to the feed bar 82. q

The grippers 34 are arranged inthe desired position upon the feed bar 82 and the bolts 84 are tightened to hold them in adjustedtpositions, and then the feed bar is reciprocated-to enable the grippers to feed the work through the press.

Thefeedbar 82 is reciprocated by two flexible bands 85 and 88 which have their outer ends secured to opposite endsof the feed bar and their inner ends secured to a quadrant 81 carried by a shaft 88 journaled in the frame I.

Thequadrant 81 is splined upon the shaft 88 and has its hub split and provided with a bolt 88 for clamping it thereon in adjusted positions.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the quadrant 81 extends upwardly between the side rails 88 of the gripper support 35 and is provided upon its front and rear faces with narrow faced arcuate ribs 88, and the support 35 has a lug 8| fixed to the bottom of each of its side rails to engage a rib 88 5 when the support "is moved forwardly or rear-. wardly.

When the grippers 34 are .to be adjusted toward or from the dies, the bolt 88 is loosened and the hand wheel 88 rotated to move the gripper sup- 10 ports 35 forwardly or rearwardly, and a lug 8i will engages rib 88 and move the quadrant 81 along the shaft 88. After the grippers 34 and the quadrant 81 are adjusted, the bolt 88 is tightened.

The feed bar 82 and the grippers 34 are recipro- 15 A secured to the shaft 88 near the rear end thereof and has the lower end of a connecting rod 83 pivoted thereto. The upper end of the connecting rod 83 is arranged-between the two sides of a bifurcated crank arm 84 and pivoted thereto by a 25 crankpi'n 85 which is secured by its nut 98 in ad- Justed position within elongated slots 81 formed in the sides of the crank arm 84 in alinement with! each other.

Adjusting the crankpin 85 longitudinally of the 30- slots 81 varies the angular distance through which the shaft 88 is rotated and thereby varies the stroke of the feed bar 82 and the distance which a piece of work is advanced during each cycle of operation. 35

The crank arm 84 is fixed upon the front end of a shaft 88 which is provided intermediate its ends with a pinion 88 and journaled in a bearing I88 carried by the frame I.

The shaft 88 is rotated in opposite directions 40 by a rack I8I which meshes with the pinion 98 and is fitted in the bearing I88 to slide therein.

The rack I 8| is moved in one direction by a hydraulic feed motor I82 and is moved in the opposite direction by a hydraulic feed motor I83 45 (Fig. 11). The motor I82 is secured to one end of the bearing I88 and has its plunger I84 in engagement with one end of the rack IN, and the motor I83 is secured to the other end of the bearing I88 and has its plunger I85 in engagement 50 with the other end of the rack I8I.

When driving liquid is delivered to the motor I82, the plunger I84 moves the rack I8I axially and causes it to rotate the pinion 88 and thereby rotate the crank arm 84 through a predetermined 5 angular distance which is ordinarily approxi- A mately the pin 85 moving from the highest point of its path of travel to the lowest point thereof.

This movement of the crank arm 84 depresses 0 the connecting rod 83 which rocks the quadrant flexible band 85 to advance the feed bar 82 and feed through the press any work with which the grippers 34 are engaged. When driving liquid is delivered to the motor I83, its plunger I85 moves the rack MI in the opposite direction and causes it to rotate the pinion 88 and the crank arm 94 in the opposite direction, thereby causing the quadrant 81 to be 7 rocked to its initial position and the flexible band 88 to retract the ieedbar. 82 to its initial position.

During a cycle of operation, the feed bar 82 advances a predetermined distance and feeds a strip of material into the press a distance cor- 75 lever I30 which is fixed to 2,019,848 responding to the adjustment of the pin 95, then the gripper 34 opens and releases the strip, then the ram 3 descends, then the feed bar is retracted, then the gripper engages it into the press during the next cycle of operation, and then the ram rises. The press is ordinarily operated continuously and the cycles'follow each other in rapid succession.

When the trailing end of the strip passes beyond the forward end of the magazine, transfer mechanism is operated to move another strip from the magazine into position to be engaged by the gripper.

The transfer mechanism is driven by the motors I02 and I03 through a sprocket wheel I06 which is secured to the rear end of the shaft 98 and connected by a chain I01 to a sprocket wheel I08 fixed to the rear end of a clutch shaft I09, as best shown in Figs. '1 and 8. The ratio between the sprocket wheels shaft I09 makes at least a full revolution during each reciprocation of the rack I0 I.

The clutch shaft I09 is journaled near-the rear end thereof in a bearing H0 carried by the frame I and has its front end journaled in the rear end of a crankshaft III which is journaled in two bearings H2 carried by the frame I.

The crankshaft III is-yieldingly held against rotation by a spring detent II 3 and is rotated a comple e revolution during certain cycles of operation by the clutch shaft I09 through a jaw clutch which has its fixed jaw H4 secured to .the rear end of the shaft III and its movable jaw H5 splined upon the shaft I09 near the front end thereof.

The jaw H5 is adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with the clutch jaw H4 by a lever H6 (Fig. 2) which is pivoted intermediate its ends upon the frame I and has a forked upper arm H1 connected to the clutch jaw H5.

The lever H6 is urged to its neutral position by a tension spring H8, which is connected to the arm H1 and the frame I, and it is adapted to be yieldingly retained in its operative position by a spring detent H9 which is carried by the frame I to engage the front arm of the lever H6.

The lever H6 normally has its front end in position to depress the stem I20 of valve I2I and its rear end in position to be elevated by a control chain I22. When the rear end of the lever H6 is raised. the arm- II1 moves the jaw H5 into engagement with the jaw H4, so that the crankshaft I II will be rotated in unison with the clutch shaft I09, and the front arm of the lever H6 enters the detent H9 and depresses the valve stem I20 against the resistance of a helical compression spring I23 which is arranged between the casing of the valve I2I and a collar I24secured to the stem I20.

Depressing the valve stem I20 causes the stroke of the pump 1 to be shortened and the press to be decelerated.

a The valve stemI20 may be depressed manually by'raising the front end of a hand lever I25 which is pivoted intermediate i s ends upon the frame I and has its front end provided with a handle I26 and its rear end forked and in engagement with the collar I24. The lever I25 is ordinarily held in inoperative position by a spring clip or detent I21.

The crankshaft III has a crankpin I28 secured to its front end and connected by a rod I29 to a a shaft I3I to rotate the same. The shaft I3I is journaled in two arms I32 and I33 which are rigidly secured to a horithe strip to advance I06 and I08 is such that the a pump control zontal bar I34 carried by the frame I in a stationary position and held against rotation thereby. (Figs. 1, 2 and 9.)

The shaft I3I has a lever I35, secured to its outer end at an angle to the lever I30 and in radial alinement with a lever I38 which is secured to the shaft I3I intermediate its ends.

The levers I35 and I36 have an elongated pin I31 journaled in their outer ends and urged outward or to the right in respect to Fig. 1 by a helical compression spring I38 which is arranged between the lever I36 and a suitable collar fixed upon the pin I31, the outward movement of the pin I31 being limited by a suitable head or collar fixed upon its inner or left end. 7 The outer end of the pin I31 has one part of a universal joint I39 secured thereto the other part of which is secured to a vertical lift rod I40 having i s upper end loosely guided by a guide bracket I4I carried by the frame I. 20

The lower end of the lift rod I40 carries a sucsuch as rubber, and connected to a vacuum pump .tion cup I42 which is made of flexible materialj (not shown) by a flexible tube I43 having a valve 2 I44 connected therein.

The valve I44 normally maintains communi-' cation between the flexible cup I42 and the vac- 'uum pump which exhausts air from the.cup I42 continuously until the stem I45 of the valve I44 is forced inwardlyto open the cup to the atmosphere.

As the clutch shaft I09 is connected bythe chain I01 and the sprocket wheels I06 and I08 to the shaft it is rotated first in one direction and then in the other in unison with the reciprocation of the feed bar 82 but, as the clutch jaw H5 is held out of engagement with the clutch jaw H4 by the spring H0, the crankshaft III remains stationary until the control chain I22 operates the lever H6 to engage the jaw H5 with the jaw H4. v

When the feed bar 82 is retracted toward the magazine 5, the clutch shaft I09 is rotated slightly more than a full revolution in a clockwise direction as viewed from the front of the press and, if the lever I I6 has been operated, the clutch jaw H5 will engage the clutch jaw H4 and rotate the crankshaft II I.

When the feed bar 82 is advanced to feed the work into the press, the clutch shaft I09 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction and the inclined faces on the teeth of the'clutch jaws assist the spring H8 in moving the jaw H5 out of engagement with the jaw H4 and the lever H6 out of the detent H9, thereby allowing the spring I23 to raise the stem I20 of the valve I2I to accelerate the press.

Thecontrol chain I22 is adjusted to operate the lever H6 when the end of a strip leaves the discharge trailing end of the magazine 5 so that the clutch jaw I I5 is in engagement with the jaw I I4 and the shaft I I I :is rotated and the speed of the press is decelerated during the retraction stroke "of the feed bar 82.

Rotation of the shaft III causes the connecting rod I29 to raise and lower the outer end of the lever I30 and rock the shaft I3I, thereby swinging the outer ends of the levers I35 and I36 and the pin I31 forwardly and downwardly through a predetermined angular distance and thenreturn- 70 ing it to cling to the strip, then the pin I31 swings the lower ,end of the rod I40 upwardly and rearwardly and the cup I42 carries the strip with it.

The cup I42 reaches its initial position at substantially the same time that the feed bar 52 reaches the limit of its retraction stroke so that the edge oi the strip is passed into the jaws of the gripper, the free end of the strip being limited in its upward movement and guided into the gripper by a stop I46.

The stop I46 is secured to a bar I" which is clamped in adjusted position to a depending arm I48 attached to a cross bar I48 carried by the frame I.

The gripper then closes upon the strip and, when the feed bar 82 advances, it carries the strip toward the dies and swings the lower end of the lift rod inward with it, the pin II'I sliding through the levers I35 and 130 until the "valve stem I45 abuts the arm I32 and is depressed thereby to open the cup I42 to the atmosphere.

The cup I42 then releases the strip and the spring I38 swings the lower end of the rod outward to its initial position.

The length of each strip is somewhat greater than required to make a given number of pieces therefrom due to the fact that such strips are not sheared accurately as to length and also to the fact that it is ordinarily impractical to make the edge of a blanking die coincide with the edge or end of a piece of work being operated upon.

Therefore, when each strip has been advanced from the magazine the number of steps or distances corresponding to the number of pieces to be made therefrom, its rear end overlaps the discharge end of the magazine by a distance equal to the length of the strip in excess of that required to form the given number of pieces, and the strip should then be advanced another step before the transfer mechanism is operated in order to move its rear end beyond the end of the uppermost strip in the magazine.

The Operation of the transfermechanism is controlled by the control chain I22 which is advanced during each cycle of operation a distance equal to the length of one of its links by a driving sprocket I50 fixed upon a shaft II which is journaled in asuitable bearing carried by the frame I.

The control chain I 22 extends around the driving sprocket I50, an idler sprocket I52 and two or more idler sprockets I53. The sprocket I52 may have its shaft carried by the frame I in a sta-- tionary position, and the sprockets I55 may have theirshafts carried by the frame I in adjusted positions to accommodate different lengths of the control chain I22, as by being secured in slots I54 formed in a back plate of the frame I as shown in Fig. '7.

Operation of the transfer mechanism is initiated by a cam I55 which is so adjusted upon the control chain I22 that it will'raise the rear end of the lever H6 and cause the transfer mechanism to operate during the next cycle of operation after the rear end of a strip has passed beyond the discharge end of the magazine.

The control chain I22 may be provided with one cam I55 and have one more link than the number of operations to be performed upon the strip or:it may have any multiple of that number of links and be provided with a corresponding number of cams I55 spaced equal distances apart.

For example, if twenty-nine operations are to be performed upon each strip, the control chain I22 may have thirty links and a cam I55 attached Fig. 7, the chain I22 is shown to one link, or any multiple of thirty links and a cam I55 attached to every thirtieth link. In

as having sixty links and a cam I55 attached to every thirtieth link. The feed mechanism thus makes one more 5 reciprocation perstrip than there are operations to be performed upon each strip.

During a cycle of operation in which the transfer mechanism is to be operated, the control chain I22 moves a cam I55 under and beyond the rear end of the lever I I 5, thereby moving the lever I I5 to its operative position in which it is held by the detent IIO'and then leaves its rear end free so thatit may be returned to its neutral position when the feed bar 82 next advances, as previously described. The chain I22 is of a type which may have links readily added thereto or removed therefrom, and the sprocket wheels I53 may be placed in various positions or more than two thereof employed to accommodate various. lengths of chain, as shown in Fig. 'l. 1 2

The driving sprocket I50 is rotated intermittently by pawl and ratchet mechanism which has a ratchet wheel I55 fixed upon the shaft I5I and engaged by a pawl I5! pivoted upon an arm I58 and urged into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel by a spring (not shown).

The arm I55 is pivoted at its upper end upon the shaft I5I and connected at its lower end to one end of a link "I59 by a ball and socket joint I50. The link I59 has its other end connected by a ball-and socket joint I6I to one arm 01a bell crank lever I52 which is pivoted upon a trunnion I53 carried by the frame I.

The other arm of the bell crank lever I62 is connected by a ball and socket joint I54 to one end of a link I55 which has its other end connected by a vball and socket Joint I55 to the lever I0 on the shaft 59. (Fig. 8.) 4

When the piston 58 of the clamping motor advances and rotates the shaft 59 to open the grippers 34, the lever I0 is swung downwardly and rearwardly and this movement is transmitted through the link I65, the bell crank lever I82 5 and the link I59 to the lower end of the arm I58 which is swung toward the centerline of the press and causes the pawl I5'I to engage a tooth of the ratchet wheel I56 and rotate it and the driving sprocket I through an angular distance 5 equal to the length of one link of the control chain I22.

When the piston I68 is retracted, the arm I58 is swung in the opposite direction to move the pawl I5I into position to engage the next tooth on the ratchet wheel I55. The control chain is thus advanced one link during each cycle of operation of the press.

The control chain may be adjusted to permit the press to operate upon strips of various lengths 60 but, when once adjusted, strips of approximately the same length should be supplied to the press until the control chain is again adjusted. i

Due to the act that the feed mechanism makes one more reciprocation per strip than there are operations to be performed upon each strip and to the fact that a small amount of excess stock remains upon each end of each strip after all of the operations thereon have been completed, as previously explained, the trailing end of one strip and the leading end of the following strip will partly overlap the dies during certain cycles of operation so that the dies might be damaged if the ram descended during those particular cycles.

In order to avoid possible damage to the dies from this cause and to permit a part of a strip to be left blank for any particular purpose, the control chain may be employed to cause the ram to miss a stroke during any given cycle of operation, for instance during the cycle in which theend of a strip partially overlaps the dies so that only a part of the die area would operate upon the strip if the ram descended.

For this purpose, the operating chain I22 is provided with one or more pins I61 each of which spaced from each other and sol cated in thechain that the ram is caused to miss a stroke when the end of a strip is between the dies.

The ram is caused to miss a stroke by operating a valve I68 (Figs. 2, 7 and 16) which is carried by the frame I- and has its plunger I69 normally held by a spring detent I 10 in position to allow liquid to flow to and from the ram cylinder 4.

The valve plunger I69 has its stem I1I connected by a pair of links I12 to one end of a' lever I13 which is secured to the front end of a shaft I14 journaled in a suitable bearing carried by the frame I.

The shaft I14 has a cam lever I16 secured to its rear end parallel to the path of the chain I22 and slightly spaced therefrom. The lever I15 v has two curved fingers or cam arms I16 and I11 which are arranged upon opposite sides of the path of the pins I61 and have their lower ends curved inwardly or toward each other so that the inner face of either one cam arm or the other is always in the path of the pins I61.

During the cycle of operation in which the chain I22 is indexed ahead to move a pin I61 from the position shown in Fig. 16 downwardly one space, the pin I61 acts upon the inner. face of the cam arm I16 and swings the lever I16, thereby rocking the shaft I14 and raising the outer end of the lever I13 which raises the valve plunger I69 to close communication between the ram cylinder 4 and the pump 1. Consequently,

the ram 3 will not be advanced during that cycle of operation.

During the next cycle of operation, the pin I61 engages the ca'mface on the inside of the camarm I11 and swings the lever I15 to its initial position, thereby returning the valve plunger I69 to its initial position so that the ram may be advanced during that cycle of operation.

The ram will continue to reciprocate during each cycle of operation until the next pin I61 operates the lever I15 to cause it to miss another Stroke;

If the strip to be operated upon is advanced so short a distance that it is not engaged by the dies during the same cycle of operation in which it is first seized by the gripper and if the strip is relative y short, there is some danger that it will be retracted slightly by the gripper during the retraction stroke thereof and thereby prevent the press from forming a predetermined number 'of complete blanks or other articles from each strip.

In order to eliminate this danger, the press is provided with two detents I18 and I19 which are substantially alike and are carried by the cross bar I49 upon opposite sides of thelower die .20 in such a. manner that they'may be swung out of operative position or removed when desired.

The detent I18 is adapted to prevent the strip 5 from being retracted before it is engaged by the dies and the detent. I19 isadapted to prevent the strip from being retracted after it has passed beyond the reach of the dies.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, each of the detents 0 I18 and I19 has a vertical arm I80 which is clamped to the cross bar I49 and provided at its lower end with a clamp I8I to engage a horizontal I bar I82-having a clamp I83 secured to its rear end.

Thelclamp I83 has secured therein the stem15 I84 of a block I85 which is provided with a recess I86 having converging upper and lower walls and with a horizontal slot or bifurcation I81 to allow a strip of work 6 to pass therethrough and through the recess I86, the strip being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5.

The recess I86 contains two tapered laws or wedges I89 which are urged toward the small end of the recess I86 by light compression springs I90 and held incontact with the upper and lower 5 walls of the recess I86 by flanges I9I which are formed upon the sides of the jaws I89 and fitted in guideways I92 formed in the side walls of the I recess I86.

When the strip 6 is advanced through the block I85, the jaws I89 are moved against the resistance of the springs I90 and allow the strip to advance freely but, if the strip tends to retract, the jaws I89 wedge betweenthe inclined walls of therecess I86 and the strip and prevent it from retracting.

The clamp's IM and I83 allow the block I85 to be adjusted both vertically and horizontally to conform to the height of the lower die and to the width of the strip being operated upon.

As shown diagrammatically in Fig. 16, the pumps 1 and 8 are ordinarily arranged in a common casing the lower part of which constitutes a reservoir I93 for a supply of working liquid, such as oil.

The low pressure or gear pump 8 draws its liquid from the reservoir I93 through a suction pipe I94 and discharges it into a low pressure supply pipe I95, and the pressure in the pipe I95 is limited by a relief valve I96 which is connected to the outlet of the pump 8 and discharges into the reservoir I93. The relief valve I96 is adjusted to open at a low pressure, for instance '15 lbs. per square inch.

The high pressure or variable pump 1 supplies 5 liquid to the hydraulic circuit through a high pressure supply pipe I91 and has liquid returned from the circuit to its intake through a return pipe I98, the pressure created by the pump 1 being limited by a relief valve I99 which is connected to the outlet thereof and discharges into the reservoir I93. The relief valve I99 is adjusted to open at a high pressure, for instance 1750 lbs. per square inch.

If the volume of liquid required by the pump 1 6 is greater than the volume of liquid being returned thereto, the pump/draws additional liquid from the reservoir I93 through'a suction pipe 200 having a check valve 20I connected therein and, if the volume of liquid returned from the circuit is greater than the volume required by the pump 1, the excess liquid is exhausted into the reservoir I93 through a relief valve 202 which is adjusted to open at a low pressure, for instance 15 lbs. per square inch. 7

The pump 1 is ordinarily driven at a constant speed by an electric motor 209, which is arranged upon the top of the frame I and connected tot-hm pump 1 by a shaft 204 having a flywheel m attached thereto, and the volumetric delivery of the/ pump is varied by changing its stroke.

As set forth'ln Patent No. 1,558,002, the cylinders of the pump I rotate about a stationary axis and the pistons thereof rotate about a movable axis which is eccentric to the cylinder axis when the pump is delivering liquid. The pistons may be moved transversely of the cylinder axis to change the stroke of the pump bymeans of an arm or pendulum which is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 18 and designated by the reference numeral 205.

The arm 200 is connected by a rod 201 to a piston 209 which it fitted in a cylinder 209 and adapted to be moved by hydraulic pressure to shift the arm 206 between two preset adjustments and cause the pump to deliver either a predetermined maximumvolume or a predetermined minimum volume of liquid.

The movement of the arm 205 toward full stroke position is limited by a stop 2I0 which is shown as a bolt threaded through the pump casing, and the movement of the arm 206 toward minimum stroke position is limited by a stop2II which is shown as a head or collar secured to the outer end oi the rod 201 to abut the pump casing.

The stop 2I0 may be adjusted to vary the maximum volumetric delivery of the pump within the capacity thereof and thereby vary the normal speed of the press, and the stop 2 may be adjusted to vary the minimum volumetric delivery of the pump and thereby vary the speed of the press during the time that the transfer mechanism is .in operation or during adjustment of the press or dies.

Liquid for actuating the piston 208 is supplied by the gear pump 8 and its delivery m controlled by the pump control valve I2I which has a port 2 I 2 arranged intermediate its ends and connected to the low pressure supply pipe I95, a port 2I3 arranged above the port 2I2 and connected by a pipe 2 It to the outer or head end of the cylinder 209, and a port 2I5 arranged below the port 2I2 and connected by a pipe 2I6 to the inner or rod end of the cylinder 209. The valve I2I has a plunger 2" which is operated by its stem I20 to control the flow of liquid from the supply pipe I95 to the cylinder 209 and the discharge of liquid from the cylinder 209 to a drain pipe 2I8 which is connected to both ends of the valve I2I and discharges into the reservoir I93. When the valve plunger 2" is in its normal position as shown in Fig. 16, the head end of the cylinder 209 is open to gear pump pressure which holds the arm 205 against the stop 2I0, and the pump 1 delivers liquid at the predetermined maximum rate to operate the press at a predetermined high speed.

When a cam I55 on the control chain I22 raises the rear end of the lever I I6 and thereby sets the transfer mechanism in motion and depresses the stem I20 of the control valve I2I, the port 2I3 is closed to the port 2I2 and opened to the drain pipe 2I8, and the port 2I5 is closed to the drain pipe 2 I8 and opened to the port 2I2.

Liquid from the gear pump 8 now flows through the pipe I95, the valve I2I and the pipe 2I5 to, the rod end of the cylinder 209 and moves the piston 208 rearwardly, thereby swinging the arm 206 to its short stroke position to reduce the volumetric delivery of the pump I to the miniaoiasea mum and decelerate the press. As the piston 203 moves rearwardly, the liquid in the head end of the cylinder 209 is exhausted through the pipe 2 and the valve I2I into the drain pipe 2I3.

when the feed bar 32 advances after the trans- 5 fer mechanism hascompleted its operation, the lever III. which is returned to its initial position by thespring III andtheplunger 2" is retumed to its initial position by the spring I22 as previoil-sly described. 1 10 Liquid from the gear pump now flows through the pipe I95, the valve HI and the pipe 2 to the head end of the cylinder 209 and advances the of the cylinder 20'. is exhaused through the pipe 2I5 and the valve I2I to th; drain pipe 2I9.

with each other and secured to the right side of the frame I near the top thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. 25 The reversing valve 2I9 controls the direction .of ram and feed bar movement, the pilot valve 220 controls the reversing valve 2I9, and the control valve 22I controls the starting and stopping of the press. a 3 The control valve 22I has a discharge port-222 which is connected by a pipe 223 to an admission port 224 in the reversing valve 2I9, a return port valve 2| 9, and arranged between the ports 222 and 225 and has the high pressure supply pipe I91 connected thereto.

. 40 The flow of liquid through the valve 22I is controlled by its plunger 229 which is in its neutral by a small plunger 230 which is fitted in the bore 50 of a cylinder 23I arranged upon the end of the valve casing and provided at its inner end with a chamber 232 having a drain pipe 233 connected thereto and discharging into the reservoir I93.

When the plunger 229 is moved to its operative 5 position as shown in Fig. 14, its rear or inner end enters the chamber 232 and expels liquid or air therefrom into the drain pipe 233 and, when the plunger 229 is returned to its neutral position, liquid or air is drawn into the chamber 232 to 0 prevent a partial vacuum from being formed therein. a

The cylinder 23I has a port 234 arranged intermediate its ends and connected by a pipe 235 to the low pressure supply pipe I95 so that, when 5 the plunger 22 9 is in its neutral position as shown in Fig. 16, it is held in that position by gear pump pressure acting upon the end of the plunger 230 but, when the plunger 229 is in its operative position as shown in Fig. 14, the port 234 is closed by 70 the plunger 23I and the plunger 229 is' held in operative position by a spring detent 236 which is carried by the valve casing and engages a groove 231 formed in the periphery of the plunger 

